Just a one shot for now, but I'll work on it once I get my other fic done!
The darkness would grow and grow the deeper one ventured. The forest had forever been transformed that day. It held secrets upon secrets and if someone ventured too far, everyone knew they would never see them again. Unlike the humans who remained the same, the fauna adapted rapidly. They grew, and their coats turned so white that they glowed within the new darkness. Trees became colossal sentinels, silent and seeming to have eyes of their own. Light no longer penetrated the deepest parts of the forest like it used to. It was this light that used to guide people through it, now it was as if the forest itself had transformed and became a hostile place full of shadows and unfulfilled promises of discovery and adventure. It became a sea of silent, watchful trees and great beasts to match them. They had tried to bring one of these creatures out from the darkness of the drop off, but it soon disappeared as soon as it reached the light. They were like phantom images that flickered in front of someone, but couldn't be touched. It was as if nature was taunting them. It could show them something beautiful, something hopeful to bring them out of the abyss only to take it away just as quickly. It was indeed a cruel time.
The village was located up in the northern forests near the great mountains that separated the land from the wastes of the north. It was a way point for travelers, subsisting off the land when it wasn't covered in frost during the long winters. The forests used to be a safe place until the dragon arrived and brought with it its curse. There are only a few left who recall the dragon's arrival. It was a fury scarlet like burning flame. The horror had multiple mouths that breathed a terrible breath. It wiped out nearly all of their crops, and it had already been a bad harvest. Its long, serpentine body slithered about through the sky. Its mighty wings brought down acres of forest. From what they could see, it came from the sky, high above from the heavens. With a great explosion that sounded like the Earth itself would crack in half, it crash landed far off into the forest. That was when the dark transformation of the land around the village began to change. With the crash, the ground sunk deep into the Earth save for the village. It was the only part of the great forest that remained on the same elevation it had. Only about an acre into the woods remained the same while the crash had created what most called "the drop off." The ground suddenly dropped off into a chasm. Nobody thought that anything alive in the forest could have survived that, but a few months later, explorers who dared to explore some of the deep chasm reported seeing gigantic deer, wolves, and any other forest creature they could imagine. They also glowed brightly in the dark. The sudden change in the land brought about many from far and wide. With help from neighboring towns, a road was made that snaked its way through the drop off area so that people could still travel in and out of the village. It was a treacherous and difficult road to travel due to the sides crumbling into the abyss from time to time, not to mention the dragon. Those who went into the safe acre, have said that they've heard deep growls and sounds of a dragon somewhere deep within the chasm. No one dared to disturb it besides foreign knights who visited for the challenge. Up to this date, any who went in seeking the dragon have never returned. The villagers figured they were either lost to the darkness or the dragon itself.
Yugi was a boy who grew up in a time when the void in the forest was normal, being only seven when it happened. It had been ten years since it first formed, and by now, many were used to the new landscape. The threat from the dragon was still very real, but since it had not been seen since, many didn't worry about it anymore. Yugi lived on the edge of the village with his grandpa. They grew some crops right outside of their house. Since the growing season was so short, Yugi was actively practicing magic so they could still make a decent living. His training was hard work, but it paid off being the only one with those skills in town. People all over the village would give him various jobs. Some among the village weren't very fond of his magic, calling it witchcraft sometimes. He supposed it had to do with the dragon. That thing had obviously had powerful magic in order to make the landscape change like this. Currently, Yugi was working on a spell to be able to traverse the darkness of the forest. It would benefit everyone greatly if they could venture into the chasm without fear of getting lost.
Once he was done with his usual chores, he waved to his grandpa before running outside. The crisp clean air filled his lungs as he happily walked around the village. The peacefulness here was what he loved. It was hard to imagine such a calamity had happened only ten years ago when he was only seven. All that he remembered was the terrible tremors as he clung onto his grandpa, not daring to open his eyes. The calamity had devastated hunting grounds and small farm lands that they used. They were forced to create a small plot of fertile land near their house. Knowing that wouldn't be enough, Yugi decided to turn his hobby of studying spells into something more serious. Everything seemed to be normal today, and he hoped he had some people in need of magic.
"Why are you denying me the right I have to slay the beast? I've travelled far, and I didn't come here to walk away empty handed."
Yugi turned his head when he heard an unfamiliar and clearly very angry voice. He peeked around a corner to see a knight standing in the town square and talking with the town elder. Yugi couldn't remember the last time he saw a knight show up here. He figured most of them had given up since none so far have even come close to the dragon.
"Every knight that goes into the forest has never come out. I won't send a young man to his untimely death."
"You act as if I've never faced a dragon before. Let me tell you that I've faced three. I think that more than qualifies me to go after this one unless you people want to live in fear forever. I suppose that's up to you."
"Please, Sir Seto. I urge you not to go past the drop off. The only thing there is the darkness and the beast."
Yugi watched as the elder pleaded, even kneeling on the ground to try to persuade the knight otherwise, but he wasn't having any of it.
"Don't worry. I assure you I won't be gone long."
Yugi knew there was no way this knight would make it out of the forest. He may not even reach the dragon. From what Yugi knew, people who went in could spend their whole lives trying to make their way through, following the glowing creatures that only led them astray. His spell wasn't quite perfected yet, but it would be better than nothing for this knight.
"Hey, wait up..Sir Seto, right?" In a last minute decision, Yugi ran up to the knight.
"What do you want, shortie? I'm on an urgent mission right now. I don't have time to chat."
"You want to find the dragon, right? I'm a..magician of sorts..in training that is. I guarantee you you won't make it even close to the dragon without my help."
"And what could you possibly do?" Seto sighed but humored Yugi for a minute by stopping.
"I'm currently working on a light spell that will make it possible to travel through the forest past the drop off point. Like I said, it's not perfect yet, but it should be enough to help you find your way. Please, I'd do anything to perfect this spell and help the people of my village. Because of all that's happened, their all so afraid of the dark. Even when it turns to night, nobody walks around outside. So, please let me help. I don't want us to be helpless to this beast anymore." Yugi's fists were clenched and eyes screwed shut, expecting a "no" from Seto. He held his breath as he waited for an answer, though Seto seemed to be taking his sweet time.
"Fine. Just don't slow me down," he said bluntly and continued walking.
"Oh, of course! I already have the stuff I need too, so let's go!"
Yugi had only been past the drop off point once before on a dare. He had barely made it back out when he felt like the darkness was clamping onto him like deadly fangs. Because of that, he stuck close behind Seto as they began the descent. As they walked, the light became dimmer and dimmer. He watched as the trees grew enormous and blocked out the sun with their thick canopies. At first, wind blew and rustled the trees while birds chirped from above. Now, that was replaced by silence like a solemn grave yard. It wasn't long before the stranger animals of the forest appeared starting with a stag the size of a house and glowing brilliantly. What was strange was how its hooves didn't seem to make any sort of sound. It walked past them in complete silence. Yugi was in such awe and fright that he hadn't noticed how close he had inched up to Seto.
"Give me some space, runt," Seto muttered, though the sudden darkness and strange creatures was already starting to throw him off as well. "That spell you were going on about earlier could really come in handy right now, you know?"
"R-right..spell," Yugi stammered. He pulled out a piece of charcoal with a shaky hand. He steadied it with his other hand for a moment before drawing a magical circle onto that hand. Muttering some ancient words to himself, soon a brilliant orb of light appeared in his hand, attaching itself to the sacred geometry of the circle.
"There. Looks like it's here to stay. Now, we should be able to find our way through the dark."
The strange creatures shied away from the bright light, leaving Seto and Yugi completely alone or so it seems.
"Look at this. The dragon won't be able to hide in the darkness for much longer." Seto knelt down to study the huge marks on the ground. It looked as if something huge raked the ground with giant claws. "It seems it's been relying on the darkness to keep people from finding it, but that's about to change. Come on and keep up."
Yugi ran as fast as his legs could carry him as Seto suddenly took off, following the various claw marks and indents in the ground. After running for what felt like forever to Yugi, he crashed right into Seto when the knight suddenly stopped in his tracks. Once Yugi recovered and opened his eyes again, he gasped at seeing light this far into the drop off zone. Sunlight shone down on one spot amid all the darkness. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw a red, serpent looking thing resting under the grotto that the sun shone down on. Its eyes met theirs since their footsteps had disturbed it from its slumber. It was much smaller than Yugi had thought it would be. He hadn't seen it on the day it appeared and crashed, but from the stories, it sounded like it was huge. From here, it looked to be only a bit bigger than a horse. It looked absolutely exhausted, barely able to get its head up to look at them. It only managed for a few seconds before collapsing onto the ground.
"This is perfect. Looks like it's weak. I would've expected it to gain strength after ten years, but perhaps the crash was just as detrimental to the dragon. Now, it's mine." Without a second thought, Seto drew his sword and went running at the weakened dragon.
Yugi wasn't sure what made him run after Seto and closer to the dragon, but something inside was telling him this wasn't right.
"Wait! It doesn't look like it can fight back!"
"That's the point. It's better that way."
With a last bit of strength, Yugi sprinted ahead and put himself inbetween Seto and the dragon. He trembled as he could feel its hot breath on his back, but it didn't move from its spot. Yugi held up his hands to stop the other.
"This isn't right! It's defenseless."
"Out of my way, pipsqueak. Who knows what that thing will do to you if you stay there. Don't you want to end the suffering of your village? Taking down this beast will do that."
"No!" Of course Yugi wanted to help his village, but something just wasn't right here. Gathering his courage, he turned around to face the dragon. The beast simply looked back at him with tired eyes rimmed red and blood shot. "It's okay. We'll hear you out first, okay?" With a deep breath, Yugi leaned forward and hugged the dragon's snout. It felt like one of the stupidest decisions of his life. Who in their right mind would even come near a deadly dragon without any sort of weapon? Yugi stayed there stubbornly despite all of Seto's protests and demands. A warm light engulfed him, and the dragon felt like it was changing in his arms. Soon after, he was no longer hugging onto a scaly snout but another warm body. When he opened his eyes, he blinked a few times in disbelief, as he held a young man in his arms. He looked like the people of the southern kingdoms. His darker skin was beautiful in the sun light. Scarlet eyes met Yugi's deep violet ones as they looked at each other. Yugi knew of ancient curses but none that could turn a human into a dragon or vice versa.
"Thank..you.." the other whispered before passing out in Yugi's arms.
"What..in the hell did you just do? That..that was a dragon.." Seto gazed at them in disbelief. "Of course, the moment I'm close to taking down the dragon it turns into a human. Lead me back to the village, magician. I've had enough of all this hocus pocus for today."
Yugi somehow convinced Seto to carry the human? Dragon? Yugi wasn't sure how to refer to him right now, but he knew he needed some medical help. With his hand illuminated again, they made their way back to the village.